OSWEGO – The H. Lee White Maritime Museum at Oswego has secured a federal Save America’s Treasures Grant of $365,593 for the LT-5 Tugboat Preservation Project.
The awards were announced August 20 and fund 42 preservation and conservation projects in 26 states. The National Park Service (NPS), in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), awards these matching grants to support the preservation of nationally significant historic properties and collections.
“The award for the LT-5 Preservation Project is a distinct honor,” said Museum Executive Director Mercedes Niess. “Ours is one of just 42 grants awarded nationwide and one of six awarded in New York State.”
The historic LT-5, part of the Museum’s vessels collection, is moored along the West First Street Pier in Oswego Harbor.
According to the Curator of the Maritime Museum Michael Pittavino, “LT-5 Major Elisha K. Henson serves as a dock-side attraction, a remnant of the greatest generation, and a site worthy of preservation.”
The 114’ ocean going tugboat played a crucial role in what General Dwight Eisenhower termed the “Great Crusade” – the allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, colloquially known as D-Day.
On November 22, 1943 hull no. 298, christened Major Elisha K. Henson, was launched at the Jacobson Shipyard at Oyster Bay on Long Island. Built as a Cox & Stevens design no. 271, LT-5 was capable of both ocean and harbor tug operations under the command of the Army Transportation Corps’ Water Division. LT-5 sailed for Great Britain on February 3, 1944 as part of the allied buildup in preparation for Operation Overload – the event that awarded her National Historic Landmark status. By 1945 there were over 200 “LT” class tugs in service to the U.S. Army begging the question: Why is this one special?
According to Charles Dana Gibson’s September 1994 article in Sea Classics “she is the last of but six LT tugs which provided a service which by its exact nature allowed victory in Normandy – a service which may well have saved the American Army once ashore from virtual defeat.”
During the pre-invasion planning process in 1943- 44, General Omar Bradley requested that one dozen barges, loaded with ammunition, be beached near the invasion site as part of the initial invasion. And so, in the early hours of June 7, 1944 LT’s 2, 4, 5, 22, 23 and 130, each transporting two barges, completed their initial mission prior to the establishment of the artificial Mulberry Harbors.
Two weeks after the initial assault a ferocious storm destroyed the American’s Mulberry A – off Omaha Beach – and, given the lack of a navigable harbor, troops on the front lines began to feel the impacts of a ruptured supply line. General Bradley, the senior general on the ground in Normandy, began to fear the worst. The ammunition beached by the six LT’s on D-Day + 1 became a life-line.
Of course, LT-5 is significant in other ways. Despite her role in the Army’s Transportation Corps, she was not spared from danger. On June 9, 1944 LT-5 shot down a German Focke Wulf – her log book for the day reads “Planes Overhead. Everyone shooting at them. Starboard gunner got an F.W.”
She was also an essential part of Operation Mulberry which established the artificial harbors on Normandy by June 14 (D-Day +8) and within four days had landed 11,000 troops, 2,000 vehicles, and 9,000 tons of equipment and supplies.
After remaining in service throughout the war in Europe, LT-5 returned to the United States and served from 1946-89 in the lower Great Lakes region assisting in the maintenance of harbors and worked on significant construction projects including the St. Lawrence Seaway in the 1950s and several harbor improvement projects in Oswego. When deemed excess by the USACE in 1989, the Port of Oswego Authority eagerly acquired the National Historic Landmark that is now maintained by the H. Lee White Maritime Museum.
Today, a dedicated group of Maritime Museum volunteers invest countless hours annually to preserve and interpret the iconic tugboat. The Port of Oswego Authority, who owns the LT-5, partners with the Museum to preserve this iconic vessel.
The Save America’s Treasures award of $365,593 is a matching grant but will enable to Museum to continue restoration work. As an in-water Landmark, it has been over 20 years since the LT-5 has been dry-docked to inspect the hull and perform necessary preservation and maintenance. The project will also address the remediation of remaining hazardous materials, and the repair of critical elements that will enable the Museum to continue long term preservation efforts in a safe environment and open up new areas of the vessel to public interpretation.
In 2019, Congress appropriated funding for Save America’s Treasures from the Historic Preservation Fund as administered by the Department of Interior, which uses revenue from federal oil leases to provide a broad range of preservation assistance without expending tax dollars. The Museum continues to garner support, generate renewed interest, and provide public access to the vessel in order to preserve the continued legacy of this unique artifact and its history.
For more information or to contribute your support, contact the H. Lee White Maritime Museum at 315-342-0480, hlwmm.org, or facebook.com/hlwmm.
For more information about the grants and the Save America’s Treasures Program, please visit https://www.nps.gov/preservation-grants/sat/index.html.
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